Butterfly Baby Quilt Flitted Away

The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.

~Vince Lombardi

Quilting

The butterfly quilt is finally finished. Can you believe these blocks began in 2017 and have been hibernating in a box for four years?

The inner border gives a needed break and the light fabric sets off the green backgrounds although a different light fabric might have worked better. Still, this is the best in my stash and these quilts are about using what's on hand as well as welcoming a new child.

Butterfly Baby quilt

Nothing much will show on the busy top but Baptist fans are always a good choice. The directional changes strengthen the quilting. This time I added a curve of petals in each fan.  That took care of the inner section. 

Butterfly quilt quilting detail

The inner border is a simple set of loops.  Then I foolishly created large pebbles for the outer border. It took forever, used loads of thread, and doesn't even show. Sometimes I outsmart myself.

Butterfly quilt outer border detail

The back is a large floral on white from my stash. The binding is a multi-colored batik that blends with most of the colors. 

Butterfly quilt folded

Quilt Specifics

Size: 40" x 40"

Design: String tulips and string block border

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose cotton

Thread: Superior 50/3 light and grey cotton thread

Quilting: FMQ

Approximate yardage: 6 yds

Previous posts:

1. Butterfly blocks

2. The first blocks

3. Designing the top

Reading

I'm losing details of each series by reading one novel and waiting for a couple of months. OTOH, there can be a different loss when reading too many in a row. The quirks of an author become annoying.  I decided to try a different tack - either read them all the way through or at least in groups. Trying to get more out of them without a surfeit.

Anyway I finished three more in Martin Walker’s Bruno mysteries: The Devil’s Cave, The Resistance Man, and The Children Return, plus the novella Bruno and the Carol Singers. This is an excellent series with well-developed characterizations, setting, and knowledge of the region and its history.

We also watched the latest Pixar movie this weekend. Luca, a fish-herding sea creature, meets Alberto, a fellow sea creature who lives in an abandoned tower. They dream of visiting the mainland and buying a Vespa. Their behavior reminded me of my brothers growing up. How did any of them survive to adulthood?

And then DH found Smigadoon! on Apple+, a six espisode take-off of classic musicals. We've watched the first three and enjoyed the talented actors.

Monthly FUR (Fabric Use Rate) 

Two quilts this month. July = 12.5 yds. YTD =  94.375 yards. I purchased some fabric this summer but am still winnowing my stash.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Starting Another Baseball Quilt

The greatest accomplishment is not in never failing, but in rising again after you fall.

~Vince Lombardi

Quilting

Rarely has my dear husband (DH) been as excited about a quilt as he was about the Phillies baseball quilt I made a few years ago. He insisted it had to have decals on it. I demurred but he ordered them anyway. One was not enough. He purchased four. And... he purchased several Giants decals, too, then looked at me with his sweet blue eyes. Because, of course, he'd love a Giants quilt. 

And I love him. I intended to make it immediately after the Phillies quilt but family emergencies intervened. So I bundled a collection of fabric and set it aside. Now is the time to get this one done. Except, the templates can't be found. 

Looking at the first quilt, I was sure it could be improved. Here's my first baseball player, a right-hander. The socks are gone; his trousers reach his shoes. His legs are shorter; still longer than his torso but the block is now square. 

RHP baseball player

And here's the second one. Including skin tones of all the players required different greens for the background. A couple of days were spent moving the fabrics around until everyone shows up reasonably well. 

Learning from my first foray, the caps and shoes the same color. Teams have limited colors and it's a faux pas to use any others. When caps are a different color than the shoes, one of them tends to fade into the {future} sashing.

Stay tuned for more players. 

Our lilies are blooming. The first is as bright an orange as Giants shirts but I've forgotten what type it is.

Reading

The Crowded Grave is my next book in Martin Walker's Bruno series. As Bruno is drawn into preparations for a summit between France and Spain, archeologists looking for Neanderthals instead turns up a skeleton with a Swatch. Martin’s love of this region is evident in every page and makes me wish I could visit for a year or two also.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Placemats and Napkins

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

~Plato

Finally. Two more kawandi placemats complete. There were only three birds so these have none and the scrap colors are much louder. I decided to pull a smaller, coordinated collection of scraps from the bag to add cohesion... Maybe. Reds in the first round established strong perimeters. I tried adding tiklis but am still not good at it. They usually occur to me after a round of stitching. 

Kawandi placemat 4

The dark pink across the top {and on the right side} is a gift from Sujata. It's Indian cotton, finer than lawn. What a difference it makes when stitching. The needle slides through like butter. Somehow, all the loud prints ended up in the previous placemat and this one was left with only quiet fabrics for the center. Still, a plate will cover it.

Kawandi placemat 5

Last week when washing the napkins, it came to my attention that they are permanently stained. Well, they've been used for several years. Clean ones are needed. At first I whined because there's not enough yardage of any of the fabrics that look like napkins. That means they won't match. Oh, boo hoo.

These fabrics have been sitting on a chair for too long. I'm starting here and will pull any fabric that is at least 22" square to make a napkin. A glorious riot of prints and color. Take your pick when you come over. 

Cloth napkins

It took more time than I thought to make them. Cut, press the seam, pin the folded seam, turn the corners, sew, and press. The first ten are done. The old napkins are going to compost.

Reading

Oh, boy. Time for the third mystery in Martin Walker's Bruno series. Black Diamond refers to truffles but the story also involves attacks on various Asian businesses. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

More Leaves and my Light Table

Whoever is careless with truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.

~Albert Einstein

Quilting

String Tulip QAL will start the first Tuesday in February. Thanks for responding so enthusiastically. Like our usual prompts, I will post steps in successive months. 

February 2 - ESS string blocks

March 2 - Tulip petals

April 6 - Center details

May 4 - Putting it all together

The instructions are not a mystery; they will recreate the three quilts I made with this design. The mystery is what you make of them. Everyone is encouraged to alter the instructions to suit their own plans. I can't wait to see where you take this.

Meanwhile, Shadow Stars continues. I estimate it will take eight more weeks to finish all four borders. My blog documents my process rather than being a source of continual eye candy and it's important to reflect the actual time it takes. Consequently these may not be the most exciting posts but I'm sticking with the program. 

I drafted leaves in three sizes and made mirror images of all. The vines were pinned in place before the leaves are arranged so the stems can hide under them. Then I removed the vines to keep them out of the way of the presser foot. {Don't ask me how I learned to do that.}

Sewing leaves to border with machine blanket stitch

Laying all these parts out properly is quick. Using a light table makes it easier to orient the applique on the borders. Years ago I had an "old school" light table that used an incandescent bulb. Eventually the toggle on/off switch broke. DH found this fantastic LED light board that is much thinner {about half an inch} and puts out no heat. My only problem is that my hands are frequently cold and the touch-sensitive switch doesn't always recognize it. Rubbing them together for a minute usually takes care of the issue. You know what they say, "Cold hands, warm heart."

The light table is bordered with ruler measurements which make placement easier.  It also works for real artists. 

LED light table

On the back the table is raised by four small pads that raise the table slightly off the surface. And for the record, information to order by phone or email is taped to the back. With this photo I'll be able to remember it even if the sticker comes off or fades. 

LED light table contact information

It's been a great present. DH is clever at finding just the right equipment.

The kawandi placemats have been perfect anecdotes for these tumultuous times. Choosing scraps from the bag with soft music is a respite from the outrageous behaviors of terrorists and traitors. Perle cotton makes the quilting much easier. DMC's manufacturing process is excellent. 

Here's the third one. It includes the last bird from the Spiderweb border fabric. I found another scrap with a similar blue-green background to add to this placemat and it unifies the design better than the previous one. 

Third placemat kawandi

Reading

I finished The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker, his second in the Bruno series. Since I started reading this series late, I'm pacing myself - one every two months. Two young men arrive in Saint-Denis to start vineyards. One wants to create organic wine while the other is the heir to a large American wine business. Both seem attracted to the beautiful young Quebecoise student who is working in a wine shop for the summer. Martin write lovingly of his adopted region. You wish you were there for the wine-stomping parties and the truffle omelet dinners or even to walk through the woods with his basset hound. This is a series to treasure.

Rhys Bowen's The Last Mrs. Summers came through a library loan. Although recently married, Darcy leaves Lady Georgie for an assignment and she joins her friend, Belinda, to view her recent inheritance of a small cottage in Cornwall. The story is inspired by Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca {which I read in high school.} A good read on a rainy day.

Hoping everyone can be vaccinated soon. Stay safe.

Ann

Cutting Leaves for the Shadow Stars Border

What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and to make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we are gone? I avow my faith that we are marching towards better days. Humanity will not be cast down. We are going on swinging bravely forward along the grand high road and already behind the distant mountains is the promise of the sun.

~Winston Churchill

Quilting

With so many colors in the Shadow Stars already, more green vines and fewer flowers seems like a better idea. I drafted several versions of the vines, made many minor changes, and then cut some simple leaf templates.

Paper leaf templates

Now it's time to review the greens. The stack that looked so good on the border stripe is now set on the Shadow Stars and it's easy to see that some are too bright. The Stars are a cheerful collections of clear and toned prints that {possibly} evoke a bit of Depression-era nostalgia. But none of them are reproduction fabrics. While I like nodding to a bygone time, I don't want a reproduction quilt. Neither do I want the border prints to overpower the Stars. 

So the two more colorful prints on the left are discarded along with the bright green on top. I may not keep the two polka dots underneath either. The remaining fabrics are quieter and more monochromatic. We'll see if there's enough to complete all the leaves. Merely 200.

Green prints for leaves

Leaf templates on regular paper won't last long so they are reinforced with the heavy cardboard from the old hanging folders. Boy, I'm glad I didn't dump these yet. Each can be reused several times before the edges become soft and I can lay them out to maximize use of my fabrics.

Arranging leaf templates on fabric

Reading

Martin Walker spent his career as a reporter for The Guardian and UPI. He also wrote several non-fiction books about European, Russian, and American politics including The National Front, Waking Giant, and Clinton. After moving to France, he began the Bruno mystery series centered on a local policeman. 

I finally read the first one, Bruno, Chief of Police, and enjoyed the way Martin incorporates his previous work into a believable and unique story. Tony Hillerman wrote a fabulous mystery series that introduced his readers to the Navaho homelands and Martin's books develop from a similar love of the Périgord region. He weaves threads from French history with current events about wine-making and small town life to create a memorable story. I'm looking for the second one now.

Enjoy the day, Ann